<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>worth the universe by starklystar</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032901">worth the universe</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starklystar/pseuds/starklystar'>starklystar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>101 ways to propose [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Tony Stark is worthy, because canon can only dream, mcu canon has been conveniently destroyed, of being as worthy as tony</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:34:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starklystar/pseuds/starklystar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In mid-battle, Steve proposes to Tony with Mjolnir. Tony uses the hammer to end the battle faster.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>101 ways to propose [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793032</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>556</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>worth the universe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>for the anon who wanted a mid-battle proposal. i completely ran away with it and butchered whatever canon there is to get to this :) hope you enjoy it! also i'm a dumbass who left out a small line of the story last night aksndbf but it's been fixed now. anyway, enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>“I need a bit of backup here, Cap,” Tony’s voice crackles through the comms without any of its usual wry teasing.</p><p>It’s another Monday, which naturally means another giant robot army.</p><p>Or it would be just another robot army if they weren’t coming in endless droves. <em>Really</em>, couldn’t villains these days be more creative? Steve slams his shield into the neck of one of the larger bots, disgruntled and annoyed.</p><p>It would also be just another Monday if it hadn’t been the day that Steve and Tony were supposed to have off – they had planned a simple date, something small to celebrate their four years together, not wanting to splurge and have it cancelled by another apocalypse.</p><p>Which, in hindsight, was very wise of them.</p><p>But if Steve hits the robots harder than he usually does, well. It’s their fault that they’re making him work when he should be lavishing Tony in bed.</p><p>Instead, Steve is here, trying his best to stay calm and collected.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” he waits tensely for Tony to answer.</p><p>A loud smash, and then, “robots took out one of my repulsors.”</p><p>That sends alarm bells ringing in Steve’s head, his mind cataloguing the remaining three robots in front of him. Angles, weak spots, exposed wiring –</p><p>Steve swings his arm back, letting his shield go. He doesn’t bother to look, certain of its path.</p><p>Tony’s not powerless with one repulsor gone. The fact that he had called for Steve’s help means he’s in bigger trouble than that.</p><p>“Tony – Iron Man – where are you?” Steve asks, the slip of names betraying the stutter of his heart at the thought of Tony in danger.</p><p>The shield slams back onto the magnets on Steve’s arm, its weight a comfort as the three robots sway before falling into lifeless heaps on the ground. <em>Bad engineering</em>, he hears his mind scoff in Tony’s voice.</p><p>While he would usually be fondly amused by how much Tony’s changed him, Steve has no time for that now.</p><p>“Corner of Park Avenue, stop sleeping and get here, you old man,” Tony grits out.</p><p>Being able to joke is a good thing, Steve has to remind himself, but still, the tension he hears in Tony’s voice is concerning, and Steve peers up at the roof Clint’s perched on.</p><p>“Hawkeye, Falcon, Widow, cover us,” Steve briskly orders, voice brooking no argument as his worry cuts his temper short. “Thor, can I borrow Mjolnir?”</p><p>“Just get keep your sappiness <em>out </em>of the comms,” Sam warns, a vaguely veiled reminder to not let his heart rule over his head, as Steve was prone to do with those he loves.</p><p>“And as long as I keep Stormbreaker, you may use Mjolnir,” Thor adds.</p><p>It’s happened once before: Steve had reached out for Mjolnir, only to have the hammer drag Thor along for the ride. They’ve since learned their lesson, and while Steve tries to borrow Mjolnir minimally, he does want to get to Tony faster.</p><p>Grateful, Steve clips his shield on his back. His hand closes around the rough leather straps of Mjolnir, spinning it into flight.</p><p>Flying with the hammer is far less enjoyable than flying with Tony, but he’ll take what he can get.</p><p>Besides, Steve smiles – the lightning burning its way through his veins, pulsing brighter and brighter as he nears Tony – Mjolnir is useful in some ways.</p><p>From the sky, Tony is one dot of red amidst a sea of dull grey bots.</p><p>Raising Mjolnir up, Steve lets the thunder rumble with its power, and he brings Mjolnir down, sending himself hurtling to the ground too, the lightning spilling out of him, engulfing them all with white light.</p><p>Stumbling slightly as his feet touch the solid earth, Steve holds onto the power a little longer. The sharp bolts of lightning burn through the metal of the robots, scorching them beyond repair.</p><p>A vindictive satisfaction twists inside him as he takes out the machines that had dared to try hurt Tony.</p><p>He rarely gives into his vengeful anger, but when the thunder fades and Mjolnir calms, all Steve can feel is a relief that Tony is alright.</p><p>“Thanks for the save,” Tony grins, his helmet retracting as he surveys the singed remains of the bots around them.</p><p>There’s a gash on Tony’s temple, the blood still a fresh red.</p><p>Steve’s heart stumbles, worry cresting in his lungs.</p><p>He takes a step closer. Reaching out, Steve slips off his right glove to cup Tony’s cheek, needing to feel, to touch, to make sure that Tony really <em>is</em> alright.</p><p>“Hey, I’m fine,” Tony clasps his gauntlet over Steve’s hand, the pressure of it heavy and grounding. “The team needs us right now.”</p><p>He’s right – Tony <em>is </em>often correct, even if Steve sometimes refrains from admitting it. Because when it comes to Tony, Steve is compromised. Logic doesn’t always triumph.</p><p>“Natasha?” Steve taps back into the comms.</p><p>“You saved your damsel yet, Cap?” she replies teasingly.</p><p>“I resent that,” Tony grumbles.</p><p>The lull in the fighting won’t last long, and their team needs a leader. Except, Steve isn’t in the right mind to do that.</p><p>“He’s no longer in distress,” Steve ignores the tongue Tony sticks out at him. “Can you take over the team for a moment? I’ll cover Tony while he fixes his repulsors,” he asks Natasha, knowing that she would understand his own need for a break, for some time to let the worried racing of his heart to recede.</p><p>A grunt, and the clang of metal against metal. “You have twenty minutes.”</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>He’ll have to buy her some ice cream later, but for now, he takes Tony’s hand and brings them away from the center of the street.</p><p>All the robots in their vicinity have been taken out by Steve’s anger, but it would only be wise to avoid standing in an open space. Then, to Tony, he asks, “do you need any help?”</p><p>“Just stand there and look pretty,” Tony dismisses, already wrist deep in the wiring of his armor.</p><p>Steve huffs. He puts his glove back on, adjusting his grip on Mjolnir.</p><p>The hammer is light in his hand, singing for battle, but as much as Steve wants to smash some more robots, he has a greater, more important duty in keeping Tony safe.</p><p>Around them, the large robot bodies are strewn across the streets, and distantly, he hears the sound of an arrow thwacking against something. His team are doing okay.</p><p>With no immediate threat, Steve lets himself indulge in admiring Tony work. Still, he vigilantly scans for any signs of danger, watching from the corner of his eye as Tony adorably bites his lips in concentration, his tongue sometimes poking out as he attaches a particularly difficult wire.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Tony’s voice startles Steve out of his daze, and when Steve blinks, the entire gauntlet is sealed again. Wiggling his fingers experimentally, Tony shoots a repulsor beam at one of the stray robot shells, whooping when the blast comes out as strong as ever.</p><p><em>God</em>, Steve always loved watching Tony work – but that thought only brings back the same gnawing anxiety that’s been distracting him through the entire battle.</p><p><em>I could have lost you</em>. <em>I can still lose you today</em>, Steve wants to tell Tony.</p><p>He realises, suddenly, that Sam is right.</p><p>They <em>should</em> keep their sappiness out of the comms. Maybe it’s time that they –</p><p>Mjolnir whips through the air.</p><p>The hammer slams heavily into the robot rounding the corner behind Tony. Steve takes pleasure in watching it fall. It deserved what it got for trying to sneak up on them.</p><p>The hammer flies back to Steve’s outstretched hand, and Tony shakes his head at the bots around them.</p><p>Clean up is going to be a bitch to do.</p><p>Luckily, it was Clint and Bruce who had drawn the short straws this time.</p><p>“You alright, Steve?”</p><p>Steve nods quickly. “Yeah.”</p><p>Tony frowns, clearly not believing him. He drops it after another long, appraising look at Steve, though, choosing instead to kick at one of the robot heads next to his boots with a rueful smile.</p><p>“Their shell is weak,” Tony starts explaining, “and if you can overload them with enough electricity, their wiring will overload and melt.”</p><p>He goes on, explaining each of the weak spots to the team, his voice washing over Steve, familiar and comforting.</p><p>It might be time, Steve repeats to himself, for them to step away. Retirement. They’ve talked about it before. And now, watching the blood dry on Tony’s temple and the shadows of sleeplessness under Tony’s eyes, Steve thinks he’s ready to put down his shield.</p><p>Well, maybe not for good.</p><p>But they could be reserve members of the Avengers, called upon only when really needed. Train recruits, pass down their knowledge and skill.</p><p>Give Tony the rest he deserves.</p><p>Steve hasn’t been able to focus on this battle because he has too much to lose, now. He’s compromised – they both are – and looking at Tony, brave and brilliant and beautiful, with a cut on his face, hair sticking out at odd angles, and armor dented, Steve feels a swell of fondness grow beyond his fear.</p><p>It feels easier for him to breathe, now, calm in the knowledge that Tony is safe.</p><p>That fondness gives way to clarity though, and the longer he watches Tony, the longer he contemplates that he could have lost Tony today, the more Steve realises what he wants.</p><p>It was time to come home from the war.  </p><p>“Marry me?”</p><p>The words slip past his lips, urgent and pressing.</p><p>They have a battle to get back to – after all, Steve can hear the clumsy clanging of the robots marching a few streets down from them – but Steve can’t wait a moment longer to ask the question.</p><p>He’s never been more sure of anything, and <em>because </em>they have a battle to get back to, Steve doesn’t want to regret not asking. He could still lose Tony today, they could get injured or even thrown to other dimensions.</p><p>Steve doesn’t want to waste any more time waiting for the right moment, especially when all his moments with Tony feel right, feel warm, feel <em>home</em>.</p><p>“What.”</p><p>From Tony, it isn’t a question.</p><p>It’s a statement of confusion.</p><p>“<em>What</em>,” Tony says again, as if saying the word could somehow explain everything.</p><p>Tony’s eyes are wide, disbelieving, but Steve knows that Tony’s brilliant mind understood the words right away.</p><p>It was Tony’s heart that hadn’t caught up with his mind.</p><p>“I want you to marry me,” Steve repeats the words, slowly this time, and gentler.</p><p>They’ve talked about marriage, too. Tony had always been blasé when Steve brought up the subject, but his eyes would soften with a wistfulness that told Steve how much he wanted it, and how much he thought he didn’t deserve it.</p><p>“You – you’re serious,” Tony stutters, flustering. “We’re in a battle. In an alley. And you want to <em>marry </em>me?”</p><p>“I’d marry you anywhere,” Steve easily points out, before remembering who it is he’s proposing to. “Well, anywhere within reason.”</p><p>Glancing down at his hand Steve considers what he has: a glove, Mjolnir, and some bandages in his belt. Tony is <em>still </em>staring at Steve, and Steve supposes there’s only a single way for the question to truly register in Tony’s mind.</p><p>Going down on one knee, Steve holds Mjolnir up, offering for Tony to take it.</p><p>The ground is hard and rough beneath Steve’s knee, but by his internal clock, they have seven more minutes before Natasha’s twenty minutes run out.</p><p>He waits patiently for Tony to process the question, eyes fixed on Tony’s face. In his ear, he hears Thor’s triumphant laugh, and Natasha chiding Clint. None of that matters.</p><p>He trusts his team to watch their backs for now, diverting the battle away from the two of them. There’s only Steve and Tony, and –</p><p>Tony looks heartbroken.</p><p>That isn’t right. Tony should <em>never </em>look heartbroken.</p><p>Has Steve made a mistake?</p><p>No one should be that upset when being proposed to unless they didn’t want to get married. Steve thought the two of them were good, with how steady they’d been going these past years despite all the bumps the universe insisted on throwing at them, except –</p><p>“You know I can’t take that, Steve.”</p><p>Steve’s heart stutters, confused. “You don’t want to marry me?”</p><p>Tony visibly swallows, his throat bobbing miserably. “<em>Of course</em> I do, but can we, can we focus on the battle first? We can talk about this later.”</p><p>That made no sense. Tony wanted to marry Steve.</p><p>So why couldn’t he –</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>Shaking his head, Steve surges back to his feet, quickly pulling Tony into a hug. The armor digs into Steve’s ribs, and he wishes he could properly hold Tony, but they <em>are </em>in a battle.</p><p>So Steve does the next best thing: he presses their foreheads together, gently cupping the back of Tony’s head with one hand, gratified when Tony leans into the touch. Still, he can feel the tension in Tony’s neck, and Steve aches because it.</p><p>Neither of them are going to be able to focus on the battle if Steve let Tony go.</p><p>Steve would be too worried about Tony, and Tony would also be preoccupied. Most likely, followed by days of Tony trying to avoid Steve afterwards.</p><p>Which would be unacceptable and monumentally stupid. Because if anything, it was <em>Steve</em> who didn’t deserve Tony.</p><p>He had learned, however, that most things in life wasn’t about who deserved what – it was about holding onto the right things, the right people.</p><p>It was about happiness, and home, and the warmth of Tony’s skin against his own.</p><p>And Steve sure as hell isn’t goinng to let go of the best thing that’s happened to him.</p><p>“Tony Stark, you are the best man I’ve ever known,” Steve tells him sternly, and Tony’s eyes flutter shut, brows crumpling.  Something in him twists at the sight of Tony so unhappy, and he rushes to continue, to try and put a smile back on Tony’s cheeks, “if some damn hammer from a dead star is too stupid to know that, then I’ll propose to you with....” Steve casts his eyes around, “with a kiss. Or my shield. Or that building there. But our team is sort of waiting for us and I'm sort of completely, entirely, definitely in love with you, so, will you marry me?”</p><p>One of Tony’s gauntleted hands close over Mjolnir, hesitant and slow, wrapping loosely around Steve’s hand. The hammer hangs between them.</p><p>Tony opens his eyes. They’re damp, but shining with a hopeful happiness, and he gives Steve a trembling smile.</p><p>“I love you, you know that?” he sniffles. “But if you make me cry again in the middle of a battle, I’m divorcing you.”</p><p>Steve laughs, relieved. “You wouldn’t. You’d hate the paperwork too much.”</p><p>“All the wedding paperwork is yours.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Steve pulls Tony in, kissing him long and hard. He knows Tony will likely frame their wedding certificate. Tony might even pin a copy on their fridge, and send a few hundred copies to mess with Fury.</p><p>But as Tony sinks into the kiss, Steve uses the distraction to slowly slip his hand off Mjolnir, shifting the hammer out of his hold and entirely into Tony’s.</p><p>Only then does Steve smile, chasing the sweetness of Tony’s lips against his own. <em>Three minutes</em>, his mind reminds him. God, how is Steve expected to let Tony go after this?</p><p>They do have to pull apart, though, and when they do, Steve knows he’s done the right thing – the smile spreading across Tony’s cheeks a sunrise of hope and joy that Steve itches to draw, to trace every line and every curve of it.</p><p>Instead, Steve takes a step away, eyes turning pointedly downwards, victorious and fond.</p><p>“You’re worth the universe, darling, and even the stars know that.”</p><p>It’s almost comical – the way Tony glances down at Mjolnir in his hands, eyes widening and darting back up to Steve. Tony’s throat works soundlessly, mouth opening and snapping close as the enormity of it crashes down on him.</p><p>Taking pity on his shocked fiancé – ‘<em>fiancé!</em>’, Steve’s mind does a little dance at the word – he steps back closer, putting a steadying hand on Tony’s shoulder.</p><p>“Do you want to try using it?” Steve asks. “Or we could always give it back to Thor.”</p><p>Tony meets his eyes blankly.</p><p>“I’m worthy,” he breathes out, still as disbelieving as ever.</p><p>Steve moves his hand to cup Tony’s cheeks again. “You always have been.”</p><p>Suddenly Tony’s lips are pressed against his, demanding another kiss, but this time the kiss is softer, less desperate and more reverent: a sweet <em>thank you</em> brimming with love.</p><p>Steve lingers in it, letting its gentle sunlight seep through his bones, sinking deep and warm in every corner of his heart.</p><p>He doesn’t want this to ever stop. He wants to stay forever in their bubble of happiness and contentment. But a loud crash, followed by a string of angry curses from Natasha, forces them both back to reality.</p><p>Tony makes a small noise of displeasure, kissing Steve a few seconds more before reluctantly pulling away.</p><p>“You, uh, said something about electricity and robots?” Steve asks, winded and struggling to center his thoughts.</p><p>It feels surreal and impossible to push away and compartmentalise his overflowing heart, especially when all he wants is to hold Tony close beside his heart, to feel the roughness of Tony’s hands against his own – imperfect and scarred, but real and <em>theirs</em>.</p><p>“Were you too busy checking me out to actually listen?” Tony teases back, his eyes dancing with the same joy singing in Steve’s chest.</p><p>Steve doesn’t bother dignifying the with an answer, though, because that would make Tony far too gleeful. “Mjolnir can give you the charge you need.”</p><p>Tony considers that for a moment.</p><p>Slowly, he lifts the hammer up, face scrunching up with doubt and half-hearted effort to summon the lightning.</p><p>“It’s not working,” Tony shrugs with a forced nonchalance. “Why can’t you be the one to fry these stupid bots?”</p><p>Steve shakes his head. “You understand their weaknesses better, and you’re not trying. I know you hate magic, but you don’t have to believe in magic for it to work. Just believe in yourself.” Cringing at how useless that sounded, he adds, “trust me. Try properly.”</p><p>With a sigh, Tony raises Mjolnir higher. He closes his eyes, brows furrowing in concentration.</p><p>“I can’t do it, Steve. I – ”</p><p>A crash of thunder, and then –</p><p>A jagged line of hot silver burns across the calm blue sky, and –</p><p>Lightning races through Tony’s suit, the heavens above them darkening and trembling with the weight of Tony’s command.</p><p>The armor’s arc reactor flares brilliant with energy, powerful and beautiful, and if Steve hadn’t already asked the question, he would be proposing again right now.</p><p>Wreathed in the bright arcs of light, Tony is a <em>god</em>.</p><p>The lightning fills up Tony’s eyes, turning their warm brown into a dangerous blue.</p><p>It’s both disconcerting and breathtaking, sending a shiver through Steve as heat pools in him, the sight of Tony ruling the skies flinging his thoughts in wild tangents.</p><p>Around them, Steve can feel the static in the air as Tony commands the heavens with so much grace and ease, the Earth submitting to the heart and will of its best defender.</p><p>There is none of the awkwardness that Steve had felt the first time he wielded Mjolnir. Now that Tony’s succeeded in bringing the skies to life, he wields the hammer with a sure confidence and a playful joy.</p><p>“Uh, Cap?” Sam’s voice comes in, jolting Steve out of his captivated trance. “What’s happening to the clouds?”</p><p>“We have a new Shakespeare in the park,” Steve informs them, too happy to be sheepish, and too in awe to hide the adoration he knows is laced in every word.</p><p>“And a wedding to plan,” Tony adds with a happy laugh, whooping as Mjolnir lifts him a few inches off the ground, lightning crackling around the hammer, waiting to be unleashed.</p><p>There’s a stunned silence for a few seconds. Then –</p><p>“Thanks for the money, boys,” Natasha’s voice filters in as the others groan about a bet. “But we’re a little busy here, so save the celebration for later.”</p><p>“Does this mean I get to rule Asgard, Thor?” Tony questions. “Steve would make a very fetching consort.”</p><p>“You may if you wish it,” Thor’s joyous reply booms through the comms, followed by the sound of metal bending and breaking.</p><p>“Ruling later. Bots <em>now</em>, lovebirds,” Natasha chimes in, her eyeroll clear in her voice.</p><p>Unhooking his shield from his back, Steve straps it onto his arm, ready to start to smacking giant robots down.</p><p>They <em>have </em>been gone long enough from the battle, and the sooner they deal with the pesky army, the sooner Steve can properly spoil his new fiancé.</p><p>He looks up at Tony. “You go high, I go low?”</p><p>“What do you say we finish this faster?” Tony grins in reply, his eyes glowing again as the thunderclouds above them flash in warning.</p><p>Steve nods easily.</p><p>“Light ‘em up, sweetheart.”</p><p>When Tony kisses him one last time, the skies crackle, lightning shining bright with their smiles.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>also posted on <a href="https://starklysteve.tumblr.com/tagged/my-fics">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>